little green man
1
9.6
- noun
- Literature
:
hombrecito verde
- He's fomenting the unrest and taking over the cities with pro Russian people, little green men as they call them.
He's fomenting the unrest and taking over the cities with pro Russian people, little green men as they call them.
- He's fomenting the unrest and taking over the cities with pro Russian people, little green men as they call them.
- We had the famous little green men invasion of the Donbass, and we did next to nothing in response.
Examples
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We had the famous little green men invasion of the Donbass, and we did next to nothing in response.
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The presence of little green men in the region allowed Russia to deny direct involvement in the conflict.
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During the military operation, many reports referred to the little green men as unmarked soldiers capturing key locations.
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In recent events, the so-called little green men have been seen patrolling the streets without any identifying insignia.
Synonyms
∞
6.3
A soldier trained to attack quickly and secretly behind enemy lines
136
7.7
A fighter in a small armed group who attacks a larger army using surprise attacks
70
7.2
A soldier trained to make quick surprise attacks behind enemy lines
Surface Forms
Morphology
The political/military sense ('an unmarked soldier deployed for deniability') is not directly derivable from 'little' + 'green' + 'man'; a B1 learner would more likely interpret it literally (a small green-coloured person) or recall the folkloric 'little green men' (aliens). The specialized, culture-specific usage is idiomatic and unpredictable from the constituents, so it would not be clear to learners without prior exposure.
Etymology
Little green man was used in recent news for soldiers who wore green uniforms but had no badges or flags, so people compared them to anonymous green figures. That's why it now also means 'an unmarked soldier' sent so the sender can deny it.